Superman Reboot Rumor: Viggo Mortensen as General Zod?
Posted 02.26.11 by BrentJS
So far, all that's certain about Zack Snyder's Superman franchise reboot is that British actor Henry Cavill has been cast as Clark Kent, aka Superman. The plot remains a mystery, as does the rest of the cast of characters and the actors who will be portraying them. Intrepid reporter Lois Lane, otherwise known as "Superman's girlfriend"—wife in the comic books since DC forced the comic book writers to match the events of the Lois & Clark TV show in the '90s —may not even be in the movie, or she may be played by any number of actresses rumored to be up for the part, including Kristen Stewart, Olivia Wilde, Alice Eve and Rosamund Pike.
As for the villain, it has been rumored that Kryptonian man-hater Ursa (played by Sarah Douglas), who first appeared in Superman and had a major role in Superman II, might be a featured character in the new movie, tentatively titled Superman: The Man of Steel. Of course, Ursa's addition to the movie just wouldn't be right without her cohort and commander, General Zod (played by Terence Stamp in Superman and Superman 2). Well, now there's a rumor for that, too. According to THR, none other than Viggo Mortensen (The Road, Eastern Promises) is a "person of interest" for the role of the Kryptonian despot who would see Superman kneel before him.
Die-hard Superman fans had a litany of complaints about Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, from Superman (Brandon Routh) having a super-powered "love child" (Tristan Lake Leabu) that never existed in the comic books, to his use of his super-senses to creepily stalk Lois (Kate Bosworth). And, though the general consensus is that Kevin Spacey did an excellent job as Lex Luthor, fans were kind of tired of seeing Superman's bald nemesis yet again. When you have a character as powerful as Superman, you want him to have equally powerful villains. Instead, Singer had Superman get pummeled by a bunch of normals after being exposed to Kryptonite.
Bringing in super-powered heavyweights like Zod and Ursa would really change up the dynamic of the franchise, which is sorely in need of a shakeup. The only apparent problem is that Snyder denied Zod would be in the movie back in November 2010, which would also likely preclude Ursa's involvement. Of course, that could simply have been misdirection on Snyder's part. Here's hoping the latter.